Subject and verb agreement

SUBJECT AND
VERB
AGREEMENT
Compound Subjects joined by Neither Nor
…. Either Or ….

Which of the two sentences are correct ?
Either the dog or the kids were making a racket downstairs. Either the dog or the kids was making a racket downstairs. What is Compound
Subject/s
When a sentence ?has two or more subjects, that’s called a “compound subject.” The individual subjects in a compound subject are joined by a coordinating conjunction (and, or, neither, nor,

Example:
Neither the cake nor the hamburgers were enough to keep us happy. Neither &
 Used in a
Nor
sentence in the negative sense when you want to say that two or more things are not

Example:
Neither wood nor plastic conducts heat like metal does. Examples
Neither a the rugs
Dickens
tall man nor nor boots by downstairs nor a
Thackeray
short was lives athe in that the doorman nor the flipcarpet panderer toliving the has house. flops inupstairs the room been vacuumed. public taste. will be here any more if you don’t put them away. Either &
 Used in a
Or

sentence in the affirmative sense when referring to a choice between two possibilities Example:
Either the chicken or the beef in the freezer needs to be thawed for dinner tonight. Example
:
matches
Either the you clerk or your rat oror or the candles brother the secretary is keeps going hasto gerbil caused be punished. the keysthe to the chewing upfire. all my
Rover.
socks.

But what is
Compound Subjects joined neither nor
… either or ?

Correct
Either the!dog or the

kids were making a racketWrong downstairs.
Either the!dog or the kids was making a racket downstairs.

The verb must agree to the subject nearest toor it the
! wer wa Either the dog kids making a es racket downstairs.
T
The two ver C
R
O
C
!
!
!

E
R

subjects joined by either and or.

b

More
Examples
!!!or plays
Either
Kevin
Brian _____ the lead solo every week. A.Plays
B.Play
C.Neither of the two

Neither the lawyer nor the detectives are ___ able to follow the
A.Is